The ANC says there is no crisis in the City of Ekurhuleni.
The ANC in Ekurhuleni has hit back at the EFF’s decision to leave the governing coalition in the municipality, describing their governance as disastrous.
The EFF this week withdrew their participation in the government of local unity (GLU) in Ekurhuleni after mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza of the ANC reduced their seats in the mayoral committee from four to two.
The ANC’s regional secretary, Jongiziwe Dlabathi, told members of the media on Friday that the mayor does not regret reducing the EFF’s seats.
“Their presence in the executive resulted in an instance of compromised governance. They participated in decisions that led to the shifting of critical energy function, which ultimately led to the under collection on the electricity revenue, plunging the City into a financial mess, which we must now clean,” he alleged.
Dlabathi also accused the EFF of manipulating tender processes in the portfolios they had for their own benefit. This includes a chemical toilet tender and a security tender.
“This is a party that claims insourcing, but given an opportunity, they appoint security contractors without letting us reserve a portion of the budget to appoint internal capacity. So, they speak left, and then they walk right.
“This is a fact about the EFF participating in government,” he claimed.
Dlabathi said the EFF had also removed their former speaker in council Nthabiseng Tshivhenga because she was in line with the values of good governance and uprooting corruption in the administration.
“They saw her as a person that will block their intent of protecting some of the senior officials within the City of Ekurhuleni. This is one of the things that an EFF being in government results in, the blocking of accountability and consequence management,” he said.
Dlabathi said the ANC will further deliberate on the rest of the positions the EFF had in the section 79 committees and other roles in council.
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EFF denies allegations of corruption
EFF provincial chairperson Nkululeko Dunga told The Citizen that the ANC’s comments about the party were “rubbish.”
“If they thought we were corrupt, why would they offer positions to a corrupt organisation? Why not just surgically remove us?” he said.
He said there is no material evidence that shows that the EFF deployees are corrupt. Instead, he accused the ANC of corruption and of stealing from the municipality.
There is no crisis, says ANC
Dlabathi said there is no crisis in the City of Ekurhuleni, even though the EFF has pulled out of the coalition.
“The Executive Mayor must fill the outstanding members of the mayoral committee to ensure the full complement of the executive subject to the necessary consolations.
“We wish to assure residents of Ekurhuleni that there is no crisis in the City of Ekurhuleni and there is no crisis in the leadership of executive mayor and his team. And if there is anything it is that of stabilising the city and the city’s administration,” he said.
Despite controversy over the new appointments on the mayoral committee, Dlabathi said the mayor had already met members of the committee that have accepted their posts.
Dlabathi said even though ActionSA has rejected the ANC’s invitation to participate in a reconfigured coalition months before the elections, “the door remains open.”
The ANC had offered ActionSA’s mayoral candidate, Xolani Khumalo the position of MMC of Community services and by-law enforcement. But this was rejected by the party.
Dlabathi alleged that ActionSA rejected this offer because it is being blackmailed by the EFF, which threatened to remove ActionSA’s Tshwane mayor, Nasiphi Moya.
“That is the real reason that ActionSA in our view has suddenly taken a U-turn from participating into the executive,” he said.
ActionSA responds
But ActionSA National Chairperson Michael Beaumont denied this,
“The ANC is admitting that they invited ActionSA to join and that confirm that we refused, why then announce us anyway?
“As for the lies about ActionSA being pressured, an ANC governing without a majority might not want to provoke the fourth largest party in Ekurhuleni…,” he said.
Dlabathi said he is aware that the EFF had also threatened to bring a motion of no confidence vote against the mayor. But said the ANC did not feel threatened at all.
“We do not believe that at this time they have the capacity to advance a motion of no confidence,” he said.
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